Instagram users are posting their “#bestnine2017” collages to the site, to celebrate the year coming to an end.

They group together the nine most popular pictures you’ve posted to the social media site this year, arranging them in a three-by-three grid.

But the Best Nine creator isn’t a native tool. In order to make your own collage, you need to use a separate service.

2017bestnine.com is a dedicated site for creating the collages.

All you need to do to make yours is type your Instagram username into the Instagram ID box on the site and hit Get – you don't even need to login.

2017bestnine will automatically find the nine most-Liked pictures you’ve posted this year, and also show you the total number of photos you’ve posted this year, and how many Likes they've all generated.

However, it only works for public profiles.

If yours is set to private but you still want a Best Nine collage, you can temporarily switch to a public profile, create your image, and then switch back to private mode.

If you’re uncomfortable with allowing a third-party service to scan your feed, you can instead create your own Best Nine image.

You can do this by going through your Instagram pictures yourself and using Instagram’s own Layout app to arrange them in a grid.

By using this method, you also have the advantage of being able to cheat a little, by swapping out a couple of your "best" pictures for slightly less popular ones that you simply prefer.

Somewhat creepily, you can also use the site to create Best Nine collages for other users – as long as their profile is public.